My PS3 is Dying

I think my PS3 is dying. Its an orginal 60g model. Had it since launch. Today I was playing Super Street Fighter 4 when the system started making strange sounds and then turned off and the red light was blinking. I turned it off and on and it was working but it turns off and starts blinking red again. Whats the cause of this? I have an external hard drive. Can I back up my saves and PS3 info on it without reformatting the drive? I want to back up my PS3 but I don't want to lose the data on the external drive in the process. Is this possible?

Blinking red light...

Does it look like this?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPz6IhEST0&feature=related

You don't have it ventilated enough. They almost need to be out the complete open and vents blown out with a can of air pressure every 3-4 months.

YOU NEED TO CLEAN THE SYSTEM. Go to a local pc shop and see if they do it. Thats how I kept my fat ps3 going.

Its over heating! You got to send it into sony for repairs. EASZY

[QUOTE="EASZY"]Its over heating! You got to send it into sony for repairs. jcopp72

I'm just going to go ahead and buy a PS3 Slim when my 60GB Fat YLODs because lets face it, it's most probably going to YLOD no matter how much you take care of it. The reflowing method and reapplying of the thermal paste is only a temporary fix. I've heard stories of people getting it fixed for £90 only to have it YLOD again a month later.

I'm just going to go ahead and buy a PS3 Slim when my 60GB Fat YLODs because lets face it, it's most probably going to YLOD no matter how much you take care of it. The reflowing method and reapplying of the thermal paste is only a temporary fix. I've heard stories of people getting it fixed for £90 only to have it YLOD again a month later.

Dahaka-UK

Yeah, I actually went out and bought a 160gb slim today. Sucks my 60gb fat won't turn on to back up.